MacBook Neo forces PC industry change, says Acer COO
Acer COO, Jerry Kao has confirmed the huge threat posed by Apple’s incredibly popular MacBook Neo which “shocked” the company when he first saw the device.
He added, “The reason why everyone is talking about the MacBook Neo is that actually because somehow a very famous brand brings its product to a price point where it has never happened before.”
Millions sold, millions happier
But he isn’t downplaying the threat the device provides, confessing that its high build quality and high performance is forcing Windows laptop makers to “think about how to bring metal to a more stable price point.”
“Even without the MacBook Neo, we still focus in that direction [cost], and I think the MacBook Neo may help the industry,” he said, predicting that plastic chassis PC laptops will end up occupying the sub-$500 part of the business.
While he was attempting to be circumspect he does seem to have criticisms of Microsoft and how it over complicates its operating system.
The problems with Windows
The Windows company recently promised to make Windows easier to use, on which Kao said, imply, “Microsoft needed to do something”. He’s also pretty critical at how difficult it is to link your phone and/or tablet with a Windows PC, which Apple does quite seamlessly.
“Up to now, I don’t see anything [from Microsoft or PC vendors] to compete with Apple,” he said, arguing that Chrome is more likely to be an immediate Apple competitor in the short term.
Apple, meanwhile, is selling so many Mac notebooks it literally provided the only point of growth in flattening PC notebook sales, according to IDC.
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